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The Right Place at the Right Time.

What are we to include, after this wide-ranging review of the way English has come to be used in the modern world? Is there a common theme which can help us explain the remarkable growth of this language? The evidence is that it is a language which has repeatedly found itself in the right place at the right time.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries English was the language of the leading colonial nation-Britain. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was the language of the leader of the industrial revolution-also Britain. In the nineteenth century and the early twentieth it was the language of the leading economic power-the USA. As a result, when new technologies brought new linguistic opportunities, English emerged as a first-rate language in industries which affected all aspects of society-the press advertising, broadcasting, motion pictures, sound recording, transport and communications. At the same time, the world was forging fresh networks of international alliances, and there emerged an unprecedented need for lingua franca. Here too, there was a clear first choice. During the first half of the twentieth century English gradually became a leading language of international political, academic, and community meetings.

By the 1960s the pre-eminence of the language was established, but it could not at that time have been described as a genuine world language. Since then, however, two events have together ensured its global status. The first was the movement towards political independence, out of which English emerged as a language with special status in several new countries. In most of these, the role of English had come to be so fundamental that no other language could compete, when the moment of independence arrived. The other event was the electronic revolution, where here too English was in the right place (the USA) and the right time (the 1970s).

The development of twentieth-century computers has been almost entirely an American affair. As Michael Specter puts it, in his New York Times article: “The Internet started in the United States, and the computer hackers whose reality has always been virtual, are almost all Americans. By the time the net spread, its linguistic patterns - like its principal architecture and best software -were all Made in the USA”. Although computer languages are not like natural languages, being very restricted, they have inevitably been greatly influenced by the mother tongue of the programmers - and this has largely been English. The first computer operating systems automatically used English vocabulary and syntax, as can be seen in such instructions as “Press any key when ready” and “Volume in Drive B has no label.” These are examples for MS (Microsoft) DOS; the system developed in 1977 by US computer entrepreneurs. The more recent operating systems replacing DOS, have displayed English influence too, though alternatives in a few other languages are now available(where the commercial advantages have justified the development costs, as in French and German).And it seems likely that the influence of English will remain, as programs become increasingly sophisticated and allow users to make more natural-sounded commands.

It is difficult to predict the future, with something so dynamic as the Internet. In a few generations’ time, the Net will not be like anything we know today. Automatic speech synthesis and recognition will be routine, and more use will be made of automatic translation. The arrival of high-quality immediate translation facilities will have a major impact on the use of English (or any lingua franca) on the Net; but these are a long way off. For the near future, it is difficult to foresee any developments which could eliminate the significant role of English on the information superhighway. The biggest potential setback to English as a global language, it has been said with more than a little irony, would have taken place a generation ago-if Bill Gates had grown up speaking Chinese.

Task2:

Answer the questions based on text.

1. How did English develop in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?

2. How did Britain contribute to English becoming the world language?

3. How did America?

4. In which areas of life did English emerge as a first-rank language?

5. Which two events ensured the global status of English?

6. How did the movement towards political independence contribute to h special status of English?

7. What impact did electronic revolution make on further promotion of English?

8. Why has the Internet been so influential to the future of English?

Task 3:

Discussing points:

1. David Crystal often uses the phrase”lingua franca.” Macmillan Dictionary defines”lingua franca” as a language people use to communicate when they have different first languages. Show justification that English is a lingua franca.

2. In his book “English as a Global Language” D.Crystal writes: “If Bill Gates had grown up speaking Chinese the future of English would have been different.” How do you understand this? Give your comments.

Task 4:

Read the text below about the English language and do the tasks that follow:

English is losing its political and cultural associations and becoming the property of all cultures. Over 70 countries in the world use English as the official or semi-official language, and in 20 more English occupies an important position. It is the main foreign language taught within most school systems. Worldwide, many newspapers are published in English and it is the language of much radio and television broadcasting. English is the language of international business, the main language of airports, air traffic control and international shipping. It is the language of science, technology and medicine, and it is estimated that two thirds of all scientific papers today are first published in English. It is the language of diplomacy and sports; it is one of the working languages of the United Nations and the language used by International Olympic Committee, International pop culture and advertising are also dominated by English.70% of the world mail is written in English, and 80% of all information in electronic retrieval systems is stored in English.

Task 5:

Choose the most appropriate title for the text.

1. Learning English

2. Working with English

3. A World Language

4. Language Sandwich.

Task 6:

Find the answers to the questions on the text.

1. How many countries use English as the official or semi-official language?

2. In how many countries is English important?

3. How many of all scientific papers are first published in English?

How much of all the information stored in electronic retrieval systems is in English?

Task 7:

Talk about it:

1. English is becoming a world language. Is this good news for every one, or can it cause problems?

2. Some French in Quebec want independence from English-speaking Canada. The Basque language (Euskera) was banned by the Spanish government; after a long struggle, it was accepted as an official language in 1980.Why do people care so much about their own language? Would you fight for the right to speak your language?

3. In some countries people are getting angry about the use of English words in their own language. For example some French do not like le marketing, le stress and le fast food in their language. How do feel about this? Does it matter?

4. Can you think of any examples of English words which have become part of your language?

5. How often do you come across English in your daily life?

Task 8:

Give a 5-minute speech on the topic “My view of Global English”

Task 9:

Here is a list of statements. Agree or disagree with them. Give reasons for your answer.

1. Most people are happy to give up their own language and learn a world language.

2. Latin used to be a lingua franca, just like English is nowadays.

3. Everybody is pleased about the rise of English.

4. Multilingualism is a dangerous thing.

5. If your language dies out, you lose an important part of your culture.

Task 10:

Below are some famous quotations on the English language and language in general. Choose one or two to your liking and comment on it (them).

1.”English is a language on which the sun never sets”

Randolph Quirk

2.”England and America are the two countries separated by a common language.”

George Bernard Show

3. “If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.”

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Task11:

Debates

Organize the debates on one or both of the following issues. Give arguments “for” and “against”

1. All people should speak English.

2. Chinese is a “lingua franca” of the future.

Task 12:

Write an essay on one of the following:

1. Describe a language situation in your country. Is there more than one official language? Are there many different dialects? Are there any social or political problems connected with languages?

2. What would it be like if everyone in the world spoke the same language? What would be better or easier? Would you lose anything?

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